Ben Bocquelet

Gender:

Born:

Voice:

Years Active:

2003-present

Benjamin "Ben" Bocquelet (born June 27, 1983) is a French-born British writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the show, The Amazing World of Gumball. He described the idea for the show as being "the fruit of a really lucky work experience." He also does the voice of Sussie's wailing, screaming, and laughter.

Contents

Animation career

Studio AKA

Before creating The Amazing World of Gumball, Bocquelet worked on commercials at Studio AKA, where he met people (like Mic Graves) who would later take part in the making of his show. He never won a job, as the competition was too strong, but he met senior director Grant Orchard and learned a lot about animation and such from him.

The Amazing World of Gumball

After leaving Studio AKA, Philip Hunt, the creative director there, encouraged him to join the new Cartoon Network studio in London. He helped other people pitch their ideas, and came up with his own idea while doing so. He pitched his idea to the producers. His idea was a show called Gumball, which is about rejected cartoon characters attending a remedial school, but producers felt this concept was too sad. He then revised this idea and made it more cheery, taking on the structure of a family sitcom. The producers liked this idea, and work went underway for what would become The Amazing World of Gumball.

Cartoon Network US aired a sneak peek on May 3, and the series officially premiered on May 9 with "The Responsible," and "The DVD." Cartoon Network UK aired "The Mystery" on May 2 as a sneak peek, and the show officially premiered on September 5 with "The DVD," and "The Third." In March 2011, two months before it aired, the show was renewed for a second season. Season 2's production finished in October of 2012.

Trivia

In an interview, Bocquelet stated that his favorite character in the show (outside of the main family) is Sussie, because he feels that the character is both elusive and funny, and because she is portrayed by his girlfriend, Aurelie Charbonnier.

In a magazine interview, he states that his favorite episode is "The End," because it never fails to make him laugh.[1]

His favorite Season 3 episode is "The Money," because he finds it perfectly illustrates end-of-season low budget.[2]

During the 2012 BAFTA awards, he states that he is allergic to cats, which is ironic, considering the main character in his show is a cat.

He states on his Twitter that his favourite film is Akira, and during the 2012 BAFTA awards, he also stated that his favorite 80's film is probably E.T.

In "The Uploads," he can be seen as an Elmore Stream-It user. He also uploaded a video called "The Amazing World of Gumball Movie Trailer."